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Herleven
The Planet Herleven is a Deathworld located on the boarder of segmentums Pacificus and Obscurus and is the Homeworld of the Angels of Rebirth Astartes Chapter. It has been a key defense for the Pacificus Segmentum against the Eye of Terror since it was rediscovered in 358.M34. Originally colonized in 350.M33 it was cut off from the rest of the Imperium for a millennium by a warpstorm that encompassed the entire system. History Discovery and Settling In M33 Imperial Astronomers discovered a potentially habitable in the Halikos sector and a small exploritor fleet was sent to investigate. Only a fifth of the fleet returned telling tales of a planet of extraordinary beauty with a moon rich in resources. Unfortunately they weren't the only ones interested. The fleet had run into a Force of Chaos that seemed to be investigating the planet themselves and had battled the exploritor fleet. The Imperial Forces had driven them off initially but lost many forces themselves and had sent a portion of their fleet back for repairs and call for aid. In response the Lord commander organized a Imperial Fleet to help hold the system, including the Blood Angels 4th company and Raven Guard 6th companies. When they arrived they found that a powerful force of Iron Warriors had arrived and had already destroyed a full half of the exploritor fleet, with more traitor forces arriving while a unforeseen warpstorm enveloped the system While the warp storm enveloped the System the Imperial forces battled the arriving Traitor forces. After a three day battle in space over the primary planet, Herleven, the Loyalist forces had lost half the Mechanicus fleet and were in dire need of aid. Finding themselves trapped in the system and without outer communications, the Blood Angels Captain Elias and the Raven Guard Shadow Captain Arthas worked out a desperate plan in an attempt to destroy the Iron Warriors flagship, Crusher of Hope. The Blood Angels Battle Barge, Bloodmoon, alongside two imperial Navy Strike Cruisers, and three Frigates, would signal the Iron Warriors and challenge them to battle. Meanwhile the Raven Guard's Strike Cruisers would go into orbit around the planet's moon, Patmos, and shut down as many systems as possible in order to stealthily flank the Iron Warriors. The plan succeeded but at great cost. The Bloodmoon was destroyed before the Raven Guard could join the fray and near the end of the battle, most of the Raven Guard force was lost when the central Strike Cruiser suffered a dire malfunction during a critical moment when it attempted to fire it's Jovian pattern Nova Cannon, which failed catastrophically, causing the vessel to suffer a cascade failure as the ship's warp engines exploded spectacularly, destroying two of the three cruisers. With the system won but a majority of their forces lost, unable to escape the warpstorm, the remaining Imperial Forces had one option remaining to them; settle the planet or die. Originally the remaining Mechanicus forces wanted to turn Herleven into a new Forgeworld, but given the necessity for food production to sustain the Imperial Forces after their stores inevitably ran out the planet was given to the Imperial Navy forces as well as the remaining Astartes. The Mechanicus would claim the more resource rich Petros as their forgeworld. The Remaining Astartes would band together and found what they considered a temporary Fortress-Monastery, Heaven's rest. Rediscovery A thousand years after the system was cut off, the warpstorm subsided. Soon a Rouge Trader fleet entered the system with the intent of claiming it. They were surprised to be greeted by the decendants of the lost imperial forces and Astartes in a well settled system. Even after the warpstorm subsided the Forces there were still stranded due to their Astropaths and Navigators having died centuries before. Once transportation was avadible the remants of the Blood Angels (mostly new marines, the companies Sanguinary Priests having been able to create a few new Marines), as well as the Gear of the Raven Guard were returned to their chapter's. While the Blood Angel's 4th Company was happy to be reunited with their chapter they advocated that a new chapter should be founded to protect the Herleven system. Eventually their plea was answered and a chapter, the Angels of Rebirth Chapter, descended from the Blood Angels was founded. Geography Herleven is an odd Deathworld in that it is exquisitely beautiful. The planets surface is mostly covered by either a polar Forest of graceful silver trees, or by an extensive desert of sand that resembles crushed crystals. What surface is left is either stony mountains or the Swiftness sea, a saline sea whose coastline changes with alarming frequency and speed making settlement along it impossible. While each of these environments have extraordinary beauty they all also are incredibly dangerous. The Polar forests are extremely fridged most of the year with the only heat coming from volcanoes, the graceful silver trees hide many a ferocious predator. The Crystal deserts are almost blinding, but the sandstorms that plague it can flay a man in seconds. Crystal Deserts Covering most of the central latitudes of the planet is a massive desert of crystalline sand. The sand often diffuses light into a wider spectrum giving the impression that it is quite colorful. Such beauty however belies it's dangers as the crystal desert is a harsh environment. Beneath the sand roam countless Sand Stalkers and even the occasional Sand Wyrm, surviving off of the water table tens of meters down. Nomads who live in the desert are forced to rely on the occasional surface oasis for water as digging through the sand often attracts powerful and dangerous predators. Most dangerous of all are the Sand Storms that arise within the desert. Due to the texture of the sand being most similar to crushed glass, unprotected people can have the flesh stripped from their bones leaving behind only a sand encrusted skeleton. Swiftness Sea The largest mass of water on the planets surface, the Swiftness sea lies near the northern end of the rocky mountain range where the city of Penance is built covering more than 500 square kilometers. Saline in nature the water is unfit for drinking and only a few Nomad tribes attempt to survive off fishing it. Due to unusual volcanic and Teutonic activity around the sea, the coast line changes to swiftly for any sort of permanent settlement to be possible. Major changes often cause huge waves to form on the sea, easily capable of capsizing or destroying fishing vessels. Polar Forests Flora & Fauna The planet of Herleven is home to several unique and dangerous forms of Fauna. What puzzles many Mechanicus Biologis is the extraordinary differences between those living in the Deserts and those living in the Boreal Forests. They have evolved in such a way as to suggest they have never, at any point, interacted. With two exceptions the Flora are considered more mundane. * Sand Strikers - Sand Strikers is actually a term applying to a wide range of species that roam the Crystal Deserts. Living beneath the sand, the Sand Strikers range in size from that of a child, to the size of a Astartes Terminator. Some common features shared throughout the various Fauna are powerful photosensitive organs used to 'see' through the crystal-like sand, and a powerful sense of taste used to locate sources of water as well as prey, be it other Sand Strikers or Human. The nomad tribes wandering outside Herleven's cities depend on hunting Sand Strikers as one of their primary food sources. * Sand Wyrms '- Sometimes referred to as Sand Emperors, the Sand Wyrm is Herleven's alpha predator. Growing up to 90 meters in length and 20 wide, a Sand Emperor could crush a Leman Russ tank with it's sheer weight. Protected by sand-hardened scales, it is fortunate for the nomad tribes that the Sand Wyrm prefers to hunt other burrowing creatures. Indeed the Wyrm's, due to their territorial behavior, will guard up to 4 square miles of desert from anything that dares to dig beneath the sand of their domain. The Nomads have long since learned that the only effective defense against them is to simply not burrow in the sand. The Wyrms are long and serpentine with up to 4 pairs of small limbs suited to digging. On their head they possess functional eyes (unlike many Sand strikers) as well as whisker like organs that can effectively detect vibrations through sand. * '''Stone Bark Trees '- One of the greatest mysteries on Herleven, the Stone Bark Trees are a silicone based life form, similar to Tree type flora. The way that the trees reproduce and grow is unknown thus far and they lack a natural predator, the only things harming them being the nomad tribes that trade their 'wood' as a luxury material. * '''Tundra Stalkers - Large mammalian predators that roam the tundra and boreal forests. possessing four limbs, each with sharp claws, the Tundra Stalkers are often hunted by Nomads as their furry hides make for excellent insulation. Angels of Rebirth Astartes also commonly adorn their armor or living quarters with Tundra Stalker furs. * 'Silver Great trees '- Growing up to 120 meters in height the Silver Great Trees are a common sight in Herleven's boreal forests. What is unique about them is a central chamber that forms within the middle of the trees where the tree will fill with a light flammable material. This is done so that in periods where the temperature decreases to the point where it threatens to freeze the Tree's sap, the Tree will set off a chemical reaction to ignite the material and heat the tree. Nomads often harvest this material as it serves as excellent tinder for fires. However the material is also a favorite food of Tundra Stalkers so they must be careful when harvesting or carrying it that it does not attract attacks from the large predator. The 7 Cities On Herleven there exist only 7 permanent settlements in the form of cities, each named for a virtue; Valor, Intelligence, Diligence, Wisdom, Hope, Preparation, and Penance. Valor Arguably the greatest of the cities Valor dwells beneath a Mountain Range made of nearly perfectly transparent quartz. the mountains shield them from the fierce elements of the planet while sill allowing natural light to pass through making it paradisaical in climate. The city exists to provide food and serfs for the Angels of Rebirth Astartes chapter which also dwells beneath the mountains, separated by a great wall of crystal and silver. while many men live in Valor only a few are chosen to be a servant for the God-Emperors Angels. Intelligence The port city of Herleven, it is where the most promising of the cities children are sent to see if they have a inclination for either Technology or War. If Technology they are inducted into the Cult Mechanicus to become Tech Preists, if war then they are trained to be officers for the Herleven PDF or occasional Imperial Guard regiment. Located in a cold Tundra it relies on a local volcano for Geothermal power. Diligence Near to Intelligence is the city of Diligence. Also powered by the polar volcano it houses most of the planet's foundries. Many children who fail to either join the Cult Mechanicus or be accepted for officer training are sent to work in the Foundries. Wisdom Smallest of the 7 cities is Wisdom, the Administrative and Ecclesiarchy center of the Planet. Built on the edge of the desert on an underground lake, it houses the Planet's Cathedrals and Archives and is home to many of the planets nobles. Every 5 years the rulers of each of the 7 cities meet to discuss the running of the planet with the Chapter Master of the Angels of Rebirth, or more often, his representative. Hope Largest of the 7 Cities Hope is built deep in the Desert between the desert's 2 largest oasis. Protected by the natural winds of the planet from the harsh desert storms it produces most of the food for the planet. As the system had to be self-sufficient for nearly 1000 years while it was encompassed by a warp storm, the city Hope produces enough food to feed almost all the other cities. Preparation While Hope is the largest city on Herleven, Preparation has the largest population, (nearly 12,000,000). Preparation provides the planet's PDF and occasional Imperial Guard regiment, it also has secondary Manufacturing and agricultural areas to support Diligence and Hope. Penance Newest of the 7 cities, Penance is built near Preparation and houses the planets criminals as well as those found unemployed. Serving as punishment for these people, those sent here are forced to mine for what resources that can be found as well as farm to help support the rest of the planet. Nomads Not everybody on Herleven lives in the 7 cities. There exist many nomadic tribes which wander the surface of the planet. These hardy men and women provide most of the recruits for the Angels of Rebirth Chapter. Forge World Petros Orbiting Herleven is the Forge World Petros. Settled by the remnants of a Mechanicus Exploritor fleet, the Forge World draws resources from 3 other planets in the system as well as countless asteroids. In exchange for food and new adepts the forge world supplies Herleven with arms and armaments for the Angels of Rebirth Astartes as well as the Herleven PDF and occasional Astra Militarum regiments. Unique technology from the Forge World include the Zephyr pattern Tactical Dreadnought (Terminator) armor, and the Wyrm armor. After taking damage from a Xenos attack in 242.M41 they have since ceased production of the Zephyr pattern Terminator armor.Category:Worlds Category:Imperium